COTY Winner… Not as Good as Baby Brother?
For the first time in its 25-year history, the COTY award is currently held by two cars: the VW Polo and the BMW 5-series. In case you’re wondering, the scoring system makes it possible to compare two very different cars under the same criteria, but the recently-revised rules didn’t actually make provision for a tie so when it happened, there was a long, drawn-out silence followed by some gnashing of teeth.
Nevertheless, representatives of the two German marques graciously accepted their half of the trophy and the rule-makers went back to the drawing board to prevent a repeat of what was, frankly, embarrassing.
To be specific the reigning champs are the Polo 1.6 turbodiesel currently priced at R215 000 and the BMW 530d, which costs more than three times that. But I’ve been driving its little brother – the 520d – which is priced at half-a-bar and it is difficult to think why one would really need more car than that. It is, in a word, superb.
With the latest version of the 2.0-litre turbodiesel under the bonnet there’s 135 kW and 380 Nm available, and because it is so readily accessible via an eight-speed automatic gearbox, it’s more than enough. Mash your right foot and the car lunges forward instantly, accelerating onward without interruption at each barely perceptible gear change. BMW credit the car with a top whack of 225 km/h and quite frankly, I can’t remember when I last drove at that kind of speed. A true 225 is seriously brisk and while the 530d will get to 250 km/h (and possibly a little more if it wasn’t restricted) the debate is about as pointless as donating bicycles to underprivileged fish.
Luxury? You can tick that box – I can’t recall leather so sumptuously comfortable and a seat so well-shaped. Space? An elegant sufficiency, both in terms of the rear compartment and the boot - this is the 5-series, after all. Refinement – diesels seldom clatter (or smoke) nowadays and this one definitely doesn’t. Sure, if you parked a petrol version alongside it, it may just feel a tiny bit smoother and have a fraction less vibration through the throttle pedal.
Safety? Let’s not even go there: listing the Five’s safety credentials and equipment would make for a long conversation. Efficiency? How does a real-world fuel consumption of under seven per 100 and CO2 emissions of 155 grams per kilometre sound, and finally, sheer driving pleasure. There’s some of that too, even though it doesn’t pretend to be a sports car. I’ve yet to come across a BMW passenger car (wagon, sedan, or coupe) which doesn’t feel right from behind the steering wheel and it rewards every input with sharp, well-measured responses and impeccable handling.
In fact, by the time I needed to hand the 520d back, I was convinced that BMW would have the COTY trophy all to themselves, and not have to share it with another brand, if the 520d and not the 530d was chosen as the finalist last year. But at least Volkswagen is also German – imagine if they were sharing the silverware with a Japanese car, or even worse, a Korean one. Now that would’ve been something of a backhanded compliment…
